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Sunday, April 3, 2011

Help save the IBOT Wheelchair

Eddie in his IBOT at Marine Ball

For the first time since 1967, Eddie Beesley can sit in his wheelchair and look you in the eye.

Eddie is a friend of mine. He's also a Marine and a Vietnam veteran who lost both legs when he stepped on a land mine in Vietnam in 1967. In 2010, Tony Orlando raised money to provide Eddie with a new IBOT wheelchair. The IBOT was designed by Dean Kamen, founder of Segway, for Johnson and Johnson. The innovative mobility device uses gyroscopic technology and enables the user to negotiate stairs, raise the chair to standing height and balances on two wheels.

Johnson and Johnson discontinued manufacturing the chair when Medicare refused funding. The following website is an appeal to vote for the continued manufacture of the IBOT. With enough signatures, the goal is to draw investment from corporations.

Eddie hugs IBOT creator

The picture from the Marine Ball is taken from Dispatches, the official MWSA - Military Writers Society of America - December 2010 magazine. See http://www.militarywriters.com/.

The other picture is when Eddie meets chair designer Dean Kamen - Dean has his back to camera - also at the 2010 Marine Birthday Ball in Branson, Missouri.

9 comments:

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America's Huey 091 Foundation www.huey091foundation.org aided in providing Eddie's iBOT. Check out our website that includes an iBOT documentary narrated by Gary Sinise. Eddie is included on the video.

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Hey, very nice site. I came across this on Google, and I am stoked that I did. I will definitely be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the conversation and bring a bit more to the table, but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment. Thanks for sharing.karma rainbow 2